Print News Notes--In case you were absent. Copy and save into your drive

Broadcast News Notes


Assignment #7--THS Daily News
  • Groups can have 2-4 people depending on how your newscast is set up
  • Develop and film a 3-5 minute newscast for the Thurston Action News
    • Must get have a DETAILED script/plan submitted and approved by Mrs. Ferris--As in who is saying what and where will you film (A script should be done and submitted for approval no later than TUESDAY)
      • The newscast must have:
        • Anchor to introduce the stories
        • A reporter to report them
        • At least 2 stories are covered (if you have 3 people you need 3 stories and 4 people will require 4 stories)
          • Anchor will introduce them and the report will tell the story
          • 1 teaser for a story that will come later in the newscast
          • Must be filmed either with a phone or Mrs. Ferris' camera
          • The news must be exciting, fast paced and school appropriate and at least one story must be Thurston Related
          • Since we will not have any violence, it is important to make your story important and informational. It does not need to be 100% true though
          • You can use props and things as needed
  • If you film this is segments, I can help you to use WeVideo or YouTube to edit the video
  • If you have questions-ASK
  • Most important, have fun!!!

Here is an example created by Mrs. Ferris and Mrs. Clayton



Assignment #6--The News Introduction/Teaser

  • Using the class Voki create a news introduction with teasers for stories that will be covered in your newscast
    • (Voki allows you to create talking animations). You can select the person doing the talking, you can write the information for it to read OR you can call in with your cell phone and record your own voice (talk to Mrs. Ferris before you do this).
  • You must include:
    • Your name (introduce yourself)
    • The name of your newscast
    • The date
    • An overview of tonight's top stories (you must have at least 3)
    • A brief top story
  • You only have 60 seconds in your Voki
  • You news anchor should look professional (remember this is a news cast).
  • All your information must be school appropriate
    • If you want to listen to your Voki you will need headphones OR come see Mrs. Ferris to borrow some
  • Some Voki tips
    • Make sure to listen to how words and names are pronounced. You have to write the words how they sound so the computer can interpret what you want it to say
    • Adjust the voice of your character
  • I will provide instructions on how to turn it in tomorrow
  • Take your time to create a good anchor, solid stories and clear wording

Assignment #5--The News Rundown


  • Rundown Example--Take a couple minutes and choose a new day and check out the run down for that newscast
  • You need to design a newscast using the stories (and times) given to you.
    • Newscast story choices (I also added this to the Classroom so you can edit it and work on it there)
    • If you want to print a copy you are more than welcome to
  • The newscast must be 22-23 minutes in length
    • Remember--There are 60 seconds in a minute, not 100 so you cannot use a calculator unless you convert the times to decimals
  • You can do this in the Google Doc (this might be hard), on lined paper (this might be easier) or in a Word table or Excel Spreadsheet



Assignment #4--Creating a news story


  • You have analyzed a news story
  • You have compared front pages
  • Now it is time to WRITE a news story
    • Using the tools you have learned from this unit and the Inverted Pyramid of news writing, create a breaking, major news story.
    • This can be fictional or based on something real
    • You must:
      • Give the Important details at the beginning
      • Included 3 "quotes" of people (they do not have to be real) about the story
      • Provide 2 background facts
      • Must answer the 5Ws and H
    • Your story should be about 1 page double spaced.
    • News story paragraphs do not have to be long, some are 1-2 lines.
    • Use the resources from this unit to help you
    • Turn in through the Classroom (I have created a Document for you so you can work right in there)


Assignment #3--Dissecting a News Story


Now it is time to DISSECT a news story
  • Using the tools you have (5 Ws and H) and the Inverted Pyramid of news writing, analyze 2 news story
  • They can be from any print news source
  • You must:
    • Identity the important information in the article (Color 1)
    • Identify the quotes/supporting details (Color 2)
    • Identify the general background (Color 3)
  • We will do 2 of them together. Do not start until we have gone through the process together.
  • Submit through Classroom

News Inverted P.jpg

Assignment #2--Front Page News

  • Visit Newseum and view the Papers from TODAY
  • Check out the Front Pages from around the country
  • Pick 5 news papers from DIFFERENT States
  • Copy the pages into a Google Doc or Google Presentation
    • This must be done on the FIRST DAY--News changes so you must get your 5 front pages TODAY. Otherwise you have to start over tomorrow. Copy first, THEN go back and answer the questions
    • The best/safest/easiest way is to open the paper so it is full sized (this is important)
      • Right Click on the full sized image
      • Select Save Image As
      • Save it to your H Drive
      • THEN once all 5 are saved, add them to your presentation
    • You will need to adjust and resize the images so they display in your presentation properly

  • Answer the following questions for each front page
    1. What paper did you choose? (should be on top of the slide with the image)What City/State were they each from (should be on top of the slide with the image)
    2. What headlines were used? (make sure to list the main headline from EACH PAPER you selected)
    3. What pictures or graphics were shown?
    4. What stood out to YOU the most

TimesDaily, Florence, Alabama.jpg

  • Once you are done with your 5, create a new slide/page and answer these questions
    • How were the stories different from the different papers/states?
    • What stories were the same through the different papers?
    • What emotions were shown? What tone was present in the front pages (positive, negative, scary)
    • Do you think any of this stories will be remembered in 10 years? Which ones? Why?
  • Submit through the Classroom when you are done

NOTE: For those who would like to use it: There is a project template in the Classroom for this assignment

Assignment #1--YOUR Front Page News

  • Create the front page of your newspaper
  • You must have
    • A Nameplate (check your vocab)
    • 3 Headlines (check your notes on how to show what news is the most important)
      • And 3 brief stories about the headlines
    • 2 pictures with captions
    • All appropriate punctuation and grammar must be used

  • You can take my template and modify it
  • You can do it on paper with magazine pictures
  • You can create your own version in Word or Google Docs (Google will give you less formatting options)